JodySimmer.com

I am not sure if I could be any more proud of my dad than I was of him tonight! After 41 years, Sergeant John Richardson of the United States Army was presented with the Bronze Star Medal for his Meritorious Achievements in ground operations against hostile forces in the Republic of Vietnam from March 1968-March 1969. He was awarded the certificate on May 5th, 1969, but never received the actual medal. After years of communicating with the military, Linda, my step-mom, learned that he could be presented with the medal after all these years. It was a HUGE surprise to my dad. He had no idea what had been arranged behind his back. He thought that he was going to a friends house for a backyard birthday celebration of one of his fishing buddies. They had everyone take their seat for what they thought was going to be a birthday song being sung by a friend, but as most of his kids walked out from behind the house, followed my Major Garris in full dress, my dad knew that something was up. The ...

My Little boy is growing up way too fast! On October 2nd he was 3 years old! He is the perfect combination of sweet and lovable and crazy and energetic and daring! He loves school, he can sing his alphabet, and can count to 20 (usually only missing number 17)! He weighs 30.8 pounds and is 37 1/2 inches tall. he loves Woody and Buzz from the movie Toy Story, Lightening McQueen and Mater from the movie Cars, anything dinosaur, and Thomas the Train Engine sets. His favorite train is the green engine named Percy. Jake took Toy Story themed cupcakes to share with this friends at school and Mrs. Carly even made him a "King for the day" crown to wear. For his party we invited friends and family to Peter Piper Pizza to have dinner, play some games, and eat cake with us. We had a great time! One of his favorite gifts was the viking hat, ax, and shield... finally some BOY dress up clothes! Jay was hunting and missed that party, so when he got home we celebrated once again by going to T...

As I am getting ready for the day my sweet little boy comes to me...looking like this... saying "I Spilled" as he took my hand and led me to the kitchen... As I round the corner and gazed in amazement he says, " WOAH ! What a mess!" He had dumped out the entire container of flour and white sugar on the floor, and brown sugar all over the kitchen table. After he was satisfied with his work he had come to get me to show off his masterpiece. In the process I had a perfect trail of flour leading out of my kitchen... Down the hallway... and into my room.... and once I started to clean up his masterpiece he decided to make himself comfortable in my office chair... and type away on my laptop! After I got him out of my room and continued to clean up the trail of his mischief I hear "HELP MOM...HELP MOM... HELP MOM" He slid down the back of the couch and was stuck! Oh this boy! LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM! He is crazy fun and certainly keeps me busy!

Jacy's first official school picture! I think today was more emotional than her 1st day of school. She just looks so grown up. I LOVE THIS GIRL!

It is only the 3rd week of school and I don't know how Mrs. Carly is going to top this day at school! The kids made their own archeology hats and got to dig for dinosaur bones in her back yard! Jake had such a great time he won't stop talking about it! He already loved dinosaurs and this just took him to a whole new level! Thanks for the fun Mrs. Carly!

One of the things Jacy was most excited about Kindergarten was riding the bus to school. She was heartbroken to find out that I would be taking her to school instead. I just didn't want to add 2 more hours onto her already long day by having her take the bus... besides this is one of the perks of being a stay-at-home-mom. =) Jacy was so excited for the first fieldtrip of the year because she FINALLY got to ride the bus! His eyes were so big as she boarded it and looked for the perfect seat. Once she got settled I asked her, "So, what do you think about the bus?" Her response, "Well, it isn't as fancy as I thought it would be." She was really amazed that there were no seatbelts for the kids, but that the driver had to wear one. She sat towards the front so that she could see all the other kids in the drivers mirror. She had a great time on a bus for the first time! I got to go on the fieldtrip with her and it was so much fun! We went to a grocery store and go...

Jake is almost 3 years old and is ready to learn! On August 23rd he had his first day of Pre-School with Mrs. Tiffany. He looked so handsome and was so excited to wear his backpack to class! He just kept saying all morning "Go to school!" He must have worked really hard in class because he came home one tired boy! It turned out that Jake was the youngest in his class. He was actually in class with other 4-5 year olds who were preparing for Kindergarten next year. It was a little over his head and he was more interested in playing with the toys than being involved in the lessons. So he was only with Mrs. Tiffany for the 1st week. On September 1st Jake had his 2nd first day of pre-school! He now attends Mrs. Carly's preschool and LOVES IT! He is in a class with only 4 or 5 other kids who are all between the ages of 2-3. He loves to play with his friends and is already learning so much! He really loves Mrs. Carly too! every morning when Jacy gets picked up for school he says...